"I just finished a book called, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough. At the same time I have been familiarizing myself with a study called, “Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE): Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction To Many Leading Causes of Death in Adults”, which was published in 1998 and has generated significant further research. Both give insight into the profound impact exposure to toxic stress has on the ability to be successful in life....
"As a primary care provider who has often been frustrated with the lack of response to treatment of chronic illness, this resonates strongly with me – we weren’t asking the right questions to get at the core of the issue!...
"When working with youth who grow up in dysfunctional poor urban settings like Camden, ACE scores tend to be off the wall. I have been discussing this with Jodina at UP, and off the top of her head she added up ACE scores for some of the youth she knows – she was getting scores of 10 or more. It’s consistent with what I wrote in an earlier post about the stress survey I was giving the high school students....
"So our youth need to be given the opportunity to be heard. Parents need education about forming secure relationships with their children – according to Tough’s findings, at any age this can make a significant difference. And educational programs can work to increase executive function as well as focus on character strengths to build resilience. Tough’s book gives specific examples of programs in the US which have been successful in supporting impoverished youth right through attainment of college degrees.
This is going to be the basis of much of the work I do this year, thanks to your support, dear readers."
http://upwellnesscenter.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/the-stress-of-it-all/
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